Without pictures, the truth remains: Non-stop Middle Earth - Road trip, hiking, plane test driving, glacier hiking in the South Island small loop - Rotorua, North Island (completed) ?

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On December 25th, Te Anau-Milford Sound-Queenstown. This day is one of my favorite itineraries. Because of the Routeburn Track. Today's itinerary will not go wrong. Just one road to the end, Highway 94, I forgot how long it is, at most 200km, if you keep driving, it will take more than two hours to get there. But personally, I think the end of the road, Milford Sound itself, is not very interesting. The key is the dozens of scenic trails of all sizes along the road, let the pictures tell the truth. Another way: enlarge google maps! It's all possible! Still looking at the same icon, you can know the difficulty. In fact, for Road trip travelers, a 3-4 hour journey is already considered long. If you want to experience a longer journey, it seems that you should not rent a car specifically. Well, there are also four or five very famous longer routes here, but it seems that there is not much public transportation information to get to the starting point. We met an Australian guy on the way who was going to walk the entire Hollyford Track, so we gave him a ride to the beginning of the track. It seems that there is no other way to start his four or five days of wilderness life except hitchhiking. The Routeburn Track we walked can also be walked for many days. There are many huts along the way, from the Divide on Highway 94 to the other side of Glenorchy, next to Queenstown. We only experienced two places along the way, one is Key Summit, and the other is the first hut. At first, these two points were on the same road. After about 40 minutes, there was a fork in the road. Going up a little bit is Key Summit, and continuing down is the first hut. After reaching the top of Key Summit, there is a large platform trail park, which is very beautiful! Don't just go down after reaching the top, continue walking on that trail to the end, where you can overlook the distant mountains and valleys (I think this is the origin of the name Divide, just a guess without basis). This is one of the most beautiful scenery we have seen on this trip, stunning! After coming down from Key Summit and finding that there was still time, we didn't go back at the fork in the road, but went to see the hut, because I have always been curious whether this kind of wilderness life that takes several days is very difficult. In fact, the conditions of the campsite are quite good, and it seems that even a delicate girl can adapt! There is also a beautiful lake! According to the Australian guy I hitchhiked, the water needed for such long-distance hiking is all taken from nature, which makes sense, you can only bring food, and the water has to be sourced locally. Of course, the campsite has tap water, if it's all like the one we saw. Our hiking trip can be completed in about 4 hours. This 94 Highway into the Sound, once you drive in, it's the end, you have to return to Te Anau no matter what. From Te Anau to Queenstown, the scenery should not be so stunning, and it will probably take nearly three hours (so we didn't arrive until midnight...). The last section into Queenstown is along Lake Wakatipu. At first, we felt regretful that we didn't see anything, but the next day we found that the road to Glenorchy was also along the other side of the lake, so the regret was gone. The alpacas are about 2 minutes after turning right onto Highway 94 after leaving Te Anau. On the right. The airbnb we stayed in Queenstown late at night is really good! You must stay in a big house by the lake! It's not expensive. The four of us booked this one, it's cheap and spacious! Unbeatable lake view, especially the table for dining! https://airbnb.com/rooms/1168717?s=8&user_id=7378180&ref_device_id=e1d3eb793c007e60d93ce4464e4d3bca3e5b19e9 Today's circle of friends: The 94 Highway to Milford Sound is really great! The trees on both sides of the road are shaded. In fact, the vegetation is more colorful in autumn, so it should be more beautiful. Personally, I think the end of the road, Milford Sound itself, is not very interesting. The key is the dozens of scenic trails of all sizes along the road, some take five minutes, some take half an hour, and the longest ones take a week to walk around. It rains 300 days a year here, however, we caught a sunny day! On the way there, we hitchhiked an Australian guy who was going for a long hike, and he was kind enough to show us the alpacas! There's a big group of them! It feels regretful that they will be cleared out one by one. We chose a three-hour section of the Routeburn Track, climbed to the top of Key Summit and enjoyed the panoramic view of the mountains, every angle could be a postcard. On the way back, we took a little detour to see the hut used by hikers for overnight stays in the mountains, the first hut on this trail is built between relatively flat mountains and clear water, simple and clean, it doesn't seem too hard, I must carry a backpack to experience it in the future. After coming down the mountain, we looked for food in Te Anau, and found that the Christmas restaurant and supermarket were closed, we only found a pizza place that used a Christmas special menu (I feel the price is very Christmas). After eating and drinking, we rushed to Queenstown and stayed in a large house by the lake, making full use of the fact that the sun sets at ten o'clock.

The arrangement for this day is Mt John. Actually, it doesn't take a whole day here, so let's sleep in and relax a bit to relieve the fatigue of the journey! If you hike up the mountain, it will take about 2-3 hours. If you drive up, it's only 20 minutes from the town center by the lake. It is said that you need to go up the mountain to see the stars before 6 o'clock, or the road will be closed. However, it gets dark at 9:30, so how to pass the time in between is a problem. The view from the mountaintop is good, and the café is highly recommended, but it's still hard to kill three or four hours. We were worried about this, but the strong wind closed the mountain, so we had to drive back down. The wind was too strong that day, and it was definitely impossible to hike up (in fact, the wind was so strong that there was a risk of being blown down the mountain). It costs 5 New Zealand dollars per car to drive up the mountain, and you can pay by card, which is convenient! So, if you don't plan to take the expensive plane safari (we still have other plans for flying, helicopter rides, and skydiving), or go to the hot springs (we plan to go to Rotorua for that), there really isn't much else to do on this day. So, we didn't see the stars in Tekapo, but it was still relaxing. There is a group for stargazing, and if you can't see it, you should be able to get a refund, probably around 150 New Zealand dollars. We planned to use an app to watch, so we didn't sign up. The daily WeChat Moments: Another day in vacation mode. After breakfast, we took a walk in the woods, but the wind was extremely strong, so we went back to bed until after noon. We rushed to make lunch, and didn't leave until four in the afternoon to go to Mt. John. The road up the mountain was still full of beautiful scenery, with lupine flowers everywhere, grazing animals, rugged roads leading into the lake, snow-capped coffee-shaped glaciers, and snow-capped mountains, all against the backdrop of a blue sky and white clouds, which was very beautiful! The wind at the top of the mountain was so strong that the car door couldn't be pushed open. It felt like if you didn't step firmly, you would be blown down the mountain immediately. Even taking out the phone to take pictures was shaking in the wind, and the wind blowing the hair was painful. We quickly went to the café to hide from the wind. The coffee cup against the blue sky and lake was quite picturesque. Just as we were worried about how to endure until 9:30 when the sun sets, the staff suddenly said that the wind was too strong and the mountain would be closed in ten minutes, so we couldn't stay on the mountain to see the stars. We could only wander down the mountain. We walked by the lake, and the sand blown by the wind felt like being whipped. If it continued to blow like that, we might go crazy, so we decided to go home and continue to hang out in the kitchen! It was already dark at ten o'clock, and it felt like life had been extended by a third during the day, but there were still no stars at night, even though it was so clear during the day! After a while, it even started to rain! Let's just go to bed! Tomorrow, we'll start the ascetic mode and hike into the mountains!

OP, please post more pictures.

This road is actually not far in a straight line, but if you go by South Scenic Road (SSR), it's really far, it's literally an island tour. Learned from yesterday's lesson, and Te Anau is not a big city, so we decided to spend the whole day on the road and arrive before dark (and because of this 'luxurious' plan, we didn't arrive until 11pm...). To get on SSR, the starting point is a road after Kaka Point, there is a sign for SSR, then turn right to get on the road! If you don't turn right and keep going, you will reach Nugget Point, which is the end of a peninsula, and the wind and scenery are very good! There are many large reefs here, which means there will be many small animals coming ashore. It is said that you can also see yellow-eyed penguins here, it seems that there are quite a few on the east coast! When we got there, it wasn't afternoon, so we didn't regret it. From Dunedin to Nugget Point, it's not too far, it seems to be 140km, and it takes about an hour and a half to two hours. The whole SSR is a lot of seaside pastures, especially vast. Some friends think this road is the most beautiful, but I seem to think the fjord area is better, anyway, it's all good! Because we didn't see the yellow eyes yesterday, we decided to set the halfway return point at Curio Bay, which makes the route quite long. It will cause us to drive 370km directly back to Te Anau from Curio Bay, and wait to see penguins at Curio Bay for more than an hour, but to no avail... It was already 6pm at this time, and if we didn't leave, we wouldn't know what time we could arrive at night, so we left. I posted a map of Curio Bay to see penguins and seals. I don't know if I found the right place. It feels like the lower left lump is called Penguin Slope... Don't let me mislead you because we didn't see it... Passed Invercargill and had a Christmas dinner, which was quite good. After eating, we continued on the road at nine o'clock and didn't arrive until 11 o'clock... I couldn't see anything... Fortunately, it's late at night! Te Anau's accommodation is also recommended, very, very spacious, typical American motel style. Although the double room for two people is displayed on booking, it is actually two large beds, and four people can sleep without pressure. So we actually booked an extra room... Remind everyone to look at the bed shape. The double room is likely to be two 1.5-meter beds. Merry Christmas!! The festive atmosphere here is not very strong, we think it may be because the 'farmers' value family and went home early. Tomorrow we will go to the big city of Queenstown to see if there is an atmosphere. Today we successfully completed the longest part of the trip, had a great brunch in Dunedin in the morning, saw the first church in New Zealand, and then hit the road. The first stop was Kaka Point, a beach where you can surf. At the end of the peninsula is Nugget Point, with a lighthouse and a viewing platform. Because there is no haze in New Village, you can see the endless coastline at the end, but the most fun is to see the wild seals nesting under the big waves on the cliff. Can you find the two seals in the third picture? After playing the last section of the coastline, we turned back to the famous South Scenic Road (SSR), and then it was endless green hills, pastures, flocks of sheep and cows. We drove to Curio Bay, close to the southernmost end of the South Island, especially at 4 o'clock, because you can see the yellow-eyed penguins that were missed yesterday. However, after waiting for an hour in the strong wind, we didn't get to meet them. Once again, we headed straight to tonight's destination, as if we had fallen into a circle. The weather was changeable, sometimes sunny and sometimes rainy, and today's photos are too bad.

December 23rd Mt Cook - Dunedin The road today will be long, over 400 km. The plan is to leave in the morning, arrive in Dunedin after noon, spend half a day in Dunedin, and then go to the Otago Peninsula in the evening (since it's dark so late). We left early in the morning. It's still quite a distance. We returned to Highway 8, passed by Lake Pukaki again, and it was still so beautiful, beautifully 'fake'. Highway 8 goes straight south, then east, and we'll pass by one or two more large lakes. The blue is not so fake, and there are green trees by the lake, very beautiful. There's a campervan site by the lake. I wonder if it's comfortable to sleep in a place like this. Actually, the east coast is supposed to be for watching penguins, sea lions, and seals, but we didn't check for information on this beforehand because this day was too tight, and we wanted to spend more time in Dunedin. As it turns out, Dunedin isn't that great... If you're just passing through, there aren't many attractions. There are plenty of good places for breakfast and lunch, and it's probably quite comfortable to stay. But personally, I think this kind of city is too big for leisure travel and relaxation. I prefer smaller cities like Oamaru to stop for a while. But back to the point, to see penguins, - Oamaru has a spot to see yellow-eyed penguins (this is rare, there are many little blue penguins, not so rare). After entering the city from the north, head towards the sea, then at a fork, there's a yellow sign that says Yello Eye xxx. Follow that to the end (sweat, I can't explain it clearly, check other guides to see if there's a more detailed explanation). Park the car, walk through the fence to the beach, there's a place to go down to the beach, and there's a sign that says not to go down after 3pm because the penguins need the beach. If you walk straight without going down, there's a small house where you can overlook the beach. At the time, I thought, since it says not to go down to the beach after 3pm, it must mean that there are no penguins coming ashore before that... Later, it was proven to be true. - The yellow-eyed penguins come ashore from 3pm to 5pm. I don't know if this changes with the time of sunset, but it's definitely applicable in December. - The little blue penguins come ashore at dusk, which is exceptionally late in December, after 9:30pm... We decided to go to the end of the Otago Peninsula at night to look for them, since we didn't encounter (really encounter) yellow-eyed penguins when passing through Oamaru. There we learned the information about the landing times mentioned above. - At the end of the Otago Peninsula, there's a tour to see penguins, which is a fee, but they can guarantee that you'll see xx number of them. The fee isn't expensive, around 25 New Zealand dollars. The little blue penguins are organized by the Albatross Museum, and the yellow-eyed penguins are at another institution beyond the hill. Since we went late, we could only see the little blue penguins, and we didn't go to the other place. - Later, we found out that Curio Bay is also a place to see yellow-eyed penguins, and we went there, but we didn't wait... - Katiki Point is also a place to see yellow-eyed penguins, but we had already passed it!! We were too lazy to turn back. In short, driving directly from Mt Cook to Dunedin is remote. Unless you have no interest in the east coast, it's better to stop and play along the way, or just spend the whole day on the road and don't leave time for a city view of Dunedin. As for the east coast, we stopped at the yellow-eyed penguin spot in Oamaru and saw a seal; we stopped at the Moeraki Boulders, looked from the seaside cafe, and didn't feel like going down; from the Moeraki Boulders, we should have continued along the coast to Katiki Point, but we followed the navigation directly to Dunedin, and by the time we realized, we had already passed the turnoff point by six kilometers, so we didn't go to Katiki Point (actually, if you go between 3pm and 5pm, you can really see the yellow-eyed penguins there!) Then we drove directly to Dunedin's train station. Dunedin is a very Scottish city, that train station, that first church, it's just a train station and a church. There's only one coastal road from Dunedin to the Otago Peninsula. We drove to the end to see the penguins, and it was quite beautiful, but where in New Zealand isn't beautiful? The accommodation in Dunedin was okay, cheap and spacious, good location, and the attractions were all within walking distance. The parking lot was big enough, and it said on the introduction that parking was charged, but it wasn't actually. Also, for some reason, the actual room rate was 50 New Zealand dollars less than what was shown on Booking... Quietly paid and left... If you don't want to park in the city, you can just book this accommodation, park your car here, and walk. In short, this part of the trip was too rushed, not recommended! Daily WeChat Moments: The highlight of the east coast is the coastal road, watching penguins and seals. On the way from the inland to the sea, we passed by a large lake, and the color of the lake was finally not so 'fake'. We chatted all the way about what color the sea would be, and we arrived at the coastal road. Near Oamaru, we accidentally found a sign for yellow-eyed penguins on the side of the road, so we turned in, only to see a small seal, and not a single penguin feather [stunned]. We drove along the coast past the Moeraki Boulders, arrived in Dunedin, and still really wanted to see penguins [pig head]. So we briefly visited the Dunedin train station, had dinner, quickly checked a place on the Otago Peninsula where we could see penguins (the end of the peninsula), and set off again. After being directed by the guide, we learned about the penguins' habits. Yellow-eyed penguins are large, very few in number, and can only be seen in a few places, including the South Island of New Zealand. They usually land from 3pm to 5pm. It turns out we were too early at the observation point in Oamaru [unlucky]. Now at this observation point, we were too late [sweat]. But there's also a type of little blue penguin, the smallest penguin species, more common than the yellow-eyed, and they only land at dusk, which means we have to wait until 10pm to see the penguins! We didn't waste our time from the bright sunshine to the sunset dusk, and finally, groups of little blue penguins landed! There were four or five waves, about one or two hundred each. Watching wild animals is a bit like diving to see big fish, you don't know if they'll come, or how many will come [picking nose]. The little blue rats with short legs, no matter how far you stretch your neck, you can't walk any faster.

It's really nice to have the habit of sharing travel notes on Moments. I can look back on them in the future.

Middle-earth, it's like a fairy tale

I like this kind of travel notes, with guides in the front and travel notes in the back

Dingding, the stool is ready~~

Ha ha, it turns out that our schedule is the same for one day!

Practical, thank you host, looking forward to the update~~~

It's not a travelogue, more like a guide, still no beautiful pictures, written for those who, like me, will plan their own trip but don't know how to do it thoroughly. Summer in New Zealand is not night. It's not bright until before six in the morning, and the South Island doesn't get dark until 10 o'clock, and the North Island is close to nine, so choosing to go to New Zealand in summer, you can basically plan for one and a half days as a day, it's worth it! Green. Actually, from the beginning of the journey, I have been a little bit worried about this. Compared to the full green, it seems that I prefer the colorful autumn colors. The green forest roads, mountains, and pastures are still beautiful, magnificent, but always feel unsatisfied, which has strengthened my determination to use this visa multiple times for an autumn trip. Cool. Don't think that escaping to the southern hemisphere for the summer means you can only bring short sleeves. Without understanding academically, New Zealand is in a temperate climate zone. In short, the summer here is not hot, not even the hottest at noon, just very sunny, with a big temperature difference between morning and evening, and the high mountain areas are also very cold, so, windproof jackets, lightweight down jackets, please bring them. About the route, the most entangled thing is the route. New Zealand is too big, and even a month is not enough to explore it all, but actually, playing for a long time, it's not worth it later, actually, after thirteen or fourteen days, the marginal effect is a bit low, and there is aesthetic fatigue. Although I know this fact, and have always told myself not to be too entangled in the route, not to rush, everywhere is beautiful, everywhere looks the same, but still lost a lot of brain cells, still rushed, and drove a lot of night roads... For example, if you really want to experience a helicopter glacier hike, and don't have time to go to the West Coast (which is quite far away), there is also a heli-hike on the Mt Cook side. As for those lakes, many lakes in the lake area are beautiful, any lake is beautiful, all beautiful. There are also hiking trails, which are easy to walk everywhere. In the fjord area, we chose Routeburn and found it very beautiful. Later, from Wanaka to Fox Glacier, passing through the national park, there are also many beautiful hiking trails. Yeah, that's it.

December 20th Christchurch - Lake Tekapo. Our flight landed in Christchurch at 8:15 am, and the car rental counter was conveniently located next to the baggage claim. The drive to Lake Tekapo is approximately 200km and should take about 3-3.5 hours due to speed limits. There is a Countdown supermarket near the airport for purchasing food for the road and cooking dinner. Lake Tekapo is a great place to experience a large house and cooking for yourself. It is recommended to book a lake view house, and there are several options available through booking or Airbnb. The main attractions in Lake Tekapo include the beautiful lake, the Good Shepherd Church, and the sheepdog statue. There are not many specific activities to do here, but it is a great place to relax and enjoy the scenery. We stayed for two nights to stargaze, but unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate. The Japanese restaurant by the lake was reasonably priced, but not particularly impressive. We arrived in Tekapo around noon, had lunch, checked into our lake view house, took a nap, and then went out to explore the area. We visited the church, saw the dog statue, took a walk by the lake, and took photos of the lupins. We were surprised to find that the sun did not set until 9:30 pm, and there were no stars visible afterwards. We planned to visit the observatory the next day to stargaze. Attached is a post from that day: 'Hello Kiwi! After nearly two days of flying, we finally started our first day of the trip! The first stop, Lake Tekapo, looks a bit like Lake Namtso, both are high mountain lakes, but this one is at an altitude of less than 1000 meters. The lupins by the lake are in full bloom, adding color to the peacock green lake. The Good Shepherd Church, how can this be called a church, it's more like a chapel! The accommodation was fully booked for the Christmas peak season, but it didn't feel crowded. We had a large grassy area all to ourselves. Back at the lakeside house, we enjoyed the spacious kitchen, ate with a view of the lake and distant mountains, and enjoyed the scenery. Besides the beautiful lake, this place is also a world-famous stargazing spot, but it was surprising that the sun didn't set until 9:30 pm. Waking up at 4 am to catch an early flight, we were struggling to stay awake.'